Mechanical movement



y 5, 9 9- F. A. LANE1 2,475,033

' I MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed Sept. 22, 1945 2 sheets -sheet 1 INVENTOR. fizz A. L/M/E,

July 5, 1949. F. A. LANE 2,475,033

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed Sept. 22, 1945' 2 Shee oS-She et 2 INVENTOR. fizz-p 17. Z mvz,

Patented July 5, 1949 2,475,033; MECHANICAL MGVEMENT Fred A; Lane, Shelburn, Ind assignori toLane.

Motors, Inc., Terre H of- Indiana aute lndua corporation Application September22, 1945; Serial No;- 6183041 output shaft; or it may be; used to convert the:

rotary. motion'oi an engine or motor. outputshaft into reciprocation of the piston: orpistons. of; apressure or exhaust; pump; butit is to be understood that: these, illustrati,versuggestions are i by Way of; example only, and that my invention: resides in the details of construction oi the mechanical, movement: disclosed; herein; and not in any selected manner oftits use.

The primary object of is; to provide anaimproved. mechanicabmovementt capable of converting, rotary" motion intorecipg rocatory motion, or vice :versa. A further object of the invention isto provide, in such' a device, structural features. which of the reciprocatingelementfrom one end of its:- stroke, to theotherl to be accompanied by rotation of the rotatable: element through a-predetermined.- number of degrees, while: return movement of to said one endof its.

the reciprocating element stroke will. be. accompanied. by; rotation of the rotatable. element through .adifierent number of degrees.- A further object so. to arrange thexparts that, if the-plane ofrmovee ment-of the reciprocating elementais-shifted, with relation to the. axisoi the rotatingelement, the relationship. betweenthe degrees of rotation of the rotating element accompanyinglthe. recipro-. cations of .the reciprocating elementin its oppo-. site directions willthereby bevaried. A further object of the invention is to provide a motion converter of the type under consideration in, which a guide determines theline ofreciprocation' of the reciprocating element; andin which saidguide is adjustable about an axis perpendicular to-the axis ofrotationof-thezrotatabl element; A- further object of the invention is to provide: such a structure in which adjustment of the line of reciprocationiofzthe reciprocable element rela.-. tive to the axis 1 of a rotation of :therotatable element= results in auvariation in :thelengthof the: stroke-of the. reciprocableselement;v as well asya: variation in the relationship between-the deg-reef the I present invention;

will. cause movement;

of the invention is ingreturnzmovement-of of. rotationofthe rotatable element accompanying movement-i012 the: reciprocable' element from; one: end of its stroketo the other, and the degree.

ofg'rotation of; therotatable element accompany-- the reciprocable element: tq said, one end of. its-stroke. jGCtSrQfthB invention will-appear as the description proceeds.

To the: accomplishment of the above and related objects, myinventionlmay-be embodied in.

the forms-illustratedintthe accompanying drawings,- attention being c-alled to the fact, however, that the. drawings arei-iliustrative only, and that changemay be made in the specific constructions illustrated-and described, sodong-as-the scope of the appended claims is-not violated.

Fig; 1' is a perspective view of an embodimenti oi i my-invention\ -.in one position of operation;

Fig; 2 Fist-a similar view another position;

Fig. 3'is a-plan viewofithe structure as-shown ins-Fig: 1 parts being shown in section for clarity of illustration;

Eig- 4 is an elevation, .partly in section, of the.

rotatable t element of my motion converter; and

5 :is: a similar: view. of a somewhat modified for use in my mechanform rof-rotatable element ical movement.

Inrthe present disclosure; no attempt is made to.illustrate, or-to describe specifically, any practical application of my invention; but instead I. have mereIyshovvnan illustrative'embodiment of themechanical movement wherebyrotary motion may-beconverted, under the conditions above. outlined, to; reiiproratory motion, and whereby reciprocatoryj motion'may alternatively be com vertedto rotary: motion;

In such illustrativefembodiment, the reference.

numeral lt-vindicatesva base plateupon which the mechanical movement is: supported. Saidplate issformed; with a centralopenmgll'inwhich is mounted a .reduced extensfon. l2 of a-bearing sleeve l3 formedwith-aflange it which bears againstaiace-of-said platefiuiand is secured in place by screws l 5 -.and; nuts I B", or other equivalent: fastening means. J ournalled. in thesleeve I3 is 831013013 indicatedigenerallyi by the reference numeral, l1, and comprisingaa shank-ili and a head l9. Thehead l9:- shouldervzfl ada ted-to bear against the outer endzi. of; the sleeve apractical. embodiment of the invention, may beeaipnlley or a-gear or-acouplingelement) is: securedin any suitable fashion, .as by a driving fit, to that'endo-f'the shank; [t -projecting beyondsun further. 0

thereof with the parts in;

is enlarged. r to define an annular.

l3; and a wheel 22-(which,v

the reduced extension I2 of said sleeve; whereby the rotor I! is held substantially against axial movement relative to the sleeve I3.

The axis of the shank I8 is, of course, coincident with that of said sleeve, but the axis of the head l9 meets the axis of said shank in an acute angle, which may have almost any value less than 90 and more than but which I now believe should preferably be between and 40 for optimum performance. Said head is formed with a reduced peripheral bearing surface 23 centered on said head axis; and a threaded stud 24 projects, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, beyond the outer end of said reduced head portion. Journal mounted on said surface 23 and bearing against the outwardly-facing shoulder 25 formed by the reduction, is a ring 26 carrying a post 21 projecting radially outwardly from said ring. A disc 23, centrally perforated to pass the stud 24, is mounted on said stud and held in place thereon by a nut 29, said disc bearing against the outer surface 30 of the reduced portion of the head l9, and the width of the ring 26 being such that it has a free-running fit between the shoulder 25 and the disc 28 without being capable of any material axial movement relative to the head [9.

Mounted upon the plate H] with its axis in the vertical plane including the axis of the rotor I1 is a bar 3|, said bar having a flattened region 32 in the neighborhood immediately above the surface 23. A cage 33, including a pair of end plates 34 and 35 joined by rods 36, 37, and 38, is supported upon said bar 3| by a headed screw 39 passing upwardly through the rod 36 and through a suitable opening in the region 32 of the bar 7 3i and receiving, above said bar 3|, a nut 40 whereby said cage may be clamped fixedly in any suitable position of adjustment relative to the bar 3!, and thus relative to the axis of the rotor l1.

Reciprocably mounted upon the rods 31 and 38 is a guide, indicated generally by the reference numeral 4!. Said guide comprises a block 42 having a snug-sliding fit on the rod 31, and a block 33 having a similar fit on the rod 38, said blocks being joined by a pintle 44, whose opposite ends are journalled in said respective blocks 42 and 43 upon an axis perpendicular to said rods 3? and 38. Said pintle is medially formed with a transverse bore 45, in which may be guidingly received the post 2'l It will be seen that, with the nut 40 tightened, the cage 33 acts to restrict the slide 4! to rectilinear reciprocation in a line determined by the adjusted position of the cage, that the engagement of the post 21 in the bore 45 restricts said post to oscillation in a plane including the line of reciprocation deter-mined by such position of the cage, that when said post so oscillates, its movement must be accompanied by an orbital rotation of the head l9 about the axis of the shank l8, and that the characteristics of such rotation will be determined (for any selected position of the cage 33) by the angle defined between the axis of the shank I8 and the axis of the surface 23 of the rotor H.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1-4, the angle defined between the axis of the shank l8 and the axis of the surface 23 is 20. Using that rotor, suitable motion conversion can be effected with the cage 33 set in any position between that illustrated, in which the angle defined between the axis of the shank l8 and the line of reciprocation of the guide 4| is 46, through a position in which said line is parallel with said axis, to a position in which said line, located on the opposite side of said axis from that illustrated, defines therewith an angle of 46.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a rotor l'l similar in all respects to the rotor l1 except for the angle defined between the shank axis and the axis of the journal surface, which, in the rotor of Fig. 5, is 30. Said rotor l1 comprises a shank I8 receivable in the sleeve I 3 and a head I9. Said head is enlarged to define a shoulder 20' adapted to bear against said sleeve end 2|, and said head is formed with a reduced peripheral bearing surface 23' centered on the axis of said head; and a threaded stud 24 projects beyond the outer end of said reduced portion. J curnal mounted on said surface 23' and bearing against the outwardly facing shoulder 25 formed by the reduction, is a ring 26' which, of course, carries a post 21' like the post 21. A disc 28', centrally perforated to pass the stud 24, is mounted on said stud and held in place thereon by a nut 29', said disc bearing against the outer surface 30 of the reduced portion of the head I 3', and the Width of the ring 26 being such that it has a free-running fit between the shoulder 25 and the disc 28' without being capable of any material axial movement relative to the head l9.

Using the rotor of Fig. 5, suitable motion conversion can be effected with the cage 33 set in any position between that in which the angle defined between the axis of the shank l8 and the line of reciprocation of the guide 4|, located on one side of said axis, is 40, through a position in which said line is parallel with said axis, to a position in which said line, located on the opposite side of said axis, defines therewith an angle of 40.

Thus, with the rotor of Fig. 4, the segment through which the cage 33 may be adjusted wtihout destroying the operability of the unit, has an angular extent of 92; with the rotor of Fig. 5, that segment has an angular extent of and with rotors in which the angles defined between their shank axes and their head axes are of still other values, the available segments of adjustment will have correspondingly variable angular extents, the width of the available segment decreasing as the angle defined between the head axis and the shank axis of the rotor increases.

A phenomenon inherent in the described structure and which is of considerable value in numerous tyes of installations to which my motion converter is applicable, lies in the fact that, in every position of the cage 33 except that in which the line of reciprocation of the guide 4| is parallel with the axis of the shank [8, the degree of rotation of the rotor corresponding to the movement of the guide from one end of its path to the other is different from the degree of rotation of the rotor corresponding to return movement of the guide to its starting point. That is, in most mechanisms constructed to convert rotary motion to reciprocatory motion or vice versa, a given extent of motion by the reciprocator will be accompanied by the same degree of rotation of the rotor, whether the reciprocatory motion be in one direction or in the opposite direction. Usually, movement of the reciprocator of such a mechanism from one extremity of its stroke to the opposite extremity thereof is accompanied by movement of the rotor through and when arr-ease:

the-reoi'procato'r then returns-to-itsstarting'pointg tlie=rotor movesthrough a-further 180.

' In my unit, on the other hand, except when the cageis located tomake' the guide fill move parallel-to'the-rotor shank axis, movement or the reciprocator'in onedirection will-be-accompanied by-a greater degree of rotation of the rotor than Will'a movement of thereciprocator to-the sameextent" in theopposite direction. For instance,. using tlie' rotor of Fig; 4; and with the cageso set thatthe=iine=of movement of the guide 4 i defines an angle of- 46." with the'rotor shank axis, the

rotor will turn through 235 as the guide moves sultant gain in the over-all eiilciency of the en gine Alternatively, if the converter is incorporated in a pump, this phenomenon will be seen to be of enormous advantage; In such an installation; ofcourse, thewheel 22 will be externally driven (by, for instance, a constant-speed motor) and the guide M will be operatively connected to the pump piston so that left-hand movement of said guide produces the compression stroke of the: piston. Since. the wheelv 2E. will rotate at constant speed, andsince 235.? of. rotation thereof is required to move the pump piston through its compression stroke while only 125 of rotation of said wheel produces the return piston stroke, it will be seen that the compression stroke of the piston will be relatively slow and powerful, while the intake stroke (for which much less power is required) will be relatively quick.

The degree of this differential is increased as the angle defined between the axis of the rotor shank and the axis of the rotor head is increased. Thus, with the rotor of Fig. 5, in which that angle is 30, as compared with 20 in the rotor of Figs. 1-4, and with the cage so set that the line of movement of the guide M defines a angle with the axis of the shank l3; movement of the guide ill from the right-hand end of its stroke to the left-hand end thereof is accompanied by 260 of rotation of the rotor ll; movement of said guide is accompanied by 100 of rotation of said rotor.

Adjustment of the position of the cage 33 relative to the axis of the rotor shank likewise varies this difierential, the differential increasing as the angle defined between the line of movement of the reciprocator and the axis of the rotor shank decreases. Thus, reverting to the rotor of Figs. 1-4, if the cage 33 be adjusted so that the angle defined between the line of movement of the guide M and the axis of the shank I8 is 28 then movement of said guide from the right-hand end of its stroke to the left-hand end thereof will be accompanied by 190 of rotation of the rotor ll, while return movement of said guide will be accompanied by 170 of rotation of the rotor. If the line of movement of the reciprocator is brought into parallelism with the axis of the shaft l8, by further adjustment of the cage 33, the differential will be reduced to 0, and the while return and five sixteenthsrotor" will turn: through: 1805 with movement of? thereciprocator from eitherend of its: stroke to l theother: endlthereofz.

Similarly,.if'the rotor: Iih' is used; andifthe cage 33 is solset that-the line ofmovementofthe guide M defines=with=the axisof the rotor shank: l8 an angle of:28l them movement of. theguide H from. the'riglit-hand and of its stroke to the left-handendi thereof will be acoompanied by 205 of rotation of the'rotor, while the return! stroke of said: guidewill' be accompanied by 155 of rotation of the rotor:

It the cage33'fl is adiust'ed past the position of parall'eism between: tho-line of movement ofthereciprocator and theaxi'sof the rotor, the dinerential above-discussed will bereversed, and'movement of thereciprocator fromtheleft-hand end of itsstroketo the right-hand end thereof will be accompanied by: a greater degree of movement' of the rotor'than will'be movement ofsaid reciprocator' from the right-hand end of its stroke to; th'e lef t hand end thereof? Both of these variab'le angleslikewise affect the length of the stroke of the reciprocator, The greater the angle-defined between the shank: axis and the head axis of' the rotorthe longer will be the: stroke of 'the reciprocator for anygiven set title of" the cage; and the greater" the angle fined between: the lineiof movement' of the reciprooatorand the aidsof therotorshank, the longer will be' the stroke of the reciprocator. Thus, in. the mechanism testeda rotor constructed with a 20 anglebetween theaxesof its shank and: head prod'uced'a reoipro'cator stroke ofl%' (one inches) when the cage was: sell tfil d'efllle' an angle of 28' /2 between the rotor' shank axis-and tl'ielineof movementof: the recip-- rocator; while with the same cage setting, an otherwise identical rotor constructed with a 30 angle between the axes of its shank and head produced a reciprocator stroke of 2 Also, the rotor which produced a reciprocator stroke of 1% with a 28 /2 cage setting produced a reciprocator stroke of 1%, with a 46 cage setting; while the rotor which produced a reciprocator stroke of 2 with a 28 /2 cage setting produced a reciprocator stroke of 2 /16" with a 40 cage setting.

The action hereinabove described is due, of course, to the wobbling of the ring 26, the oscillation of said ring about the axis of the surface 23 or 23', and the reciprocation and oscillation of the post 21 or 21' relative to the pintle 44. Needless to say, the details of construction of the means for confining the post 21 or 21 to oscillatory movement in a plane are unimportant to my invention; as are the particular means for determining the position of that plane. So long as the post is restricted by any means whatsoever to oscillation in a single plane, within the limits of a segment which is bisected by the axis of rotation of the rotor and. whose angular extent is determined in accordance with the angular relation between the axes of the shank and the head of the rotor, the unit will convert rotary motion into reciprocatory motion, or vice versa, in accordance with the principles and characteristics above outlined.

For each value of the angular relation between the axes of the shank and head of a selected rotor, there is a maximum limit to the angular extent of such segment, beyond which the unit becomes inoperative. It is to be noted, also, that there are operative limits to the angular relation between said axes of the rotor shank and head. Thus,

7. it is obvious upon inspection that if such axes are aligned, so that the angular relation therebetween is or 180, rotation of the rotor will not result in oscillation of the post Z'l-that is, the stroke of the reciprocator will become 0. Even an infinitesimal misalignment of said axes, however-an angular relation therebetween of only a fraction of a degree-will begin to produce a motionconverting action. Such action will, of course, be tiny in degree if the angle between said axes is small, but will increase as the angle defined between said axes is increased.

Inspection, too, will demonstrate that an angular relation of 90 between said axes will constitute an inoperative structure, and that structures in which that relation is less than, but close to, 90 will be quite inefiicient, though operative. It is my present belief that rotors in which the angle defined between the axes of the shank and head is greater than 45 or less than will produce structures too inefiicient to be practical; and that optimum values for such angle lie within the range between and 40.

I claim:

1. A mechanical movement for effecting a conversion between rotary and reciprocatory motion in either direction, comprising a shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotation about its axis, said shaft being formed to provide a journal surface whose axis meets said shaft axis in an acute angle, an element projecting radially with respect to said journal surface, said element being journal-mounted On said journal surface for relative rotation therebetween, and means operatively associated with said element to restrict oscillatory motion of said element to a predetermined plane, and a support for said last-named means, said last-named means being adjustable on said sup: port to locate said plane at any desired position within a segment bisected by the axis of said shaft and having an angular extent inversely variable in accordance with said acute angle.

2. A mechanical movement for effecting a conversion between rotary and reciprocatory motion in either direction, comprising a shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotation about its axis, said shaft being formed to provide a journal surface whose axis meets said shaft axis in an acute angle, an element projecting radially with respect to said journal surface, said element being journal-mounted on said journal surface for relative rotation therebetween, rectilinear guide means cooperatively engaging said element to restrict oscillatory motion of said element to a predetermined plane, and a journal mounting for said guide means, said journal mounting being disposed on an axis intersecting said shaft and journal surface axes at their point of intersection, and said guide means being adjustable about said journal mounting to locate said plane at any desired position within a segment bisected by the axis of said shaft and having an angular extent inversely variable in accordance with said acute angle.

FRED A. LANE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date ,134,155 Phifer Apr. 6, 1915 1,188,016 Slonecker June 20, 1916 

